Top 5 Mistakes Made when Producing Startup Pitch Videos (and How to Avoid Them!)

Mistakes are often made in the planning or production of startup pitch videos. Many of these mistakes can actually be avoided if it weren’t for some basic planning and essential understanding of the pitch video production processes. New entrepreneurs are often tempted to DIY their way through the process of producing startup pitch videos for their new business ventures, touting the need to “save money” or “keep expenses low” in the early days of business incorporation and development, but this isn’t always ideal. 

Sometimes, it’s better to just invest upfront into a professional production company to work with on your startup pitch videos. In fact, many mistakes could potentially be avoided by simply hiring a professional to work with on the startup pitch videos or other marketing content that you create early on in the beginning of your business ventures. 

At Beverly Boy Productions, we’ve seen a lot in our time producing startup pitch videos and a variety of other forms of content for B2B and B2C entrepreneurs. Nothing tops these top 5 mistakes that are made by entrepreneurs seeking to DIY startup pitch videos instead of just investing a little into their business venture!

1. Startup Pitch Videos are Too Long

As a golden rule, you want to keep your pitch videos short and very focused. Some investors will even consider a video that’s too long to be rude or potentially inconsiderate of their time! You have to remember that investors are seeing 100s of these videos each month, possibly more in some cases. They don’t have the time to watch a ten minute video. They barely have the time to invest 3 minutes into reviewing each pitch. Which is why you have to very carefully consider the total length of your startup pitch videos to ensure they remain within an appropriate length that is desired by the investor in order to:

• Deliver the pertinent details and information.
• Engage the investor and encourage them to support your startup.
• Address the key question your investor has, “How can I make money off this investment?”

Anything that goes beyond this, delivering too much information or taking too long to deliver the information, is unacceptable and a rookie move!

2. Overly Creative and Missing Key Standards for Decision Making

If you’re thinking about producing your own startup pitch videos, then you’ve probably done a ton of research and reading about what you should include and how to include it. You’ve probably read over and over again, that you need to be creative, tell a story, and be unique so that your content stands out. And while all of this is true, too often we see entrepreneurs get so focused on the creativity of their startup pitch videos that they miss out on something incredibly important: delivering key standards & details that are required in order for your investor to make a split second decision about your startup.

This is essential to understand because most investors are going to give your pitch video somewhere between 10-30 seconds before they make a decision either to stick around and hear your pitch to the end, or to move onto the next pitch video on their list. So you’ve got to deliver the details an investor needs at the start of your startup pitch videos to help them decide:

• Does this startup venture align with my investment portfolio?
• Is this the kind of startup that I would typically have interest in?
• Does this seem like something that I can make money on?

This is achieved with a very short session that explains to your investor:

• What your business is.
• How your business makes money.
• How your business will make your investor money.
• What your investor can expect.

That’s it! You need to instantly deliver the “What in this for me?” answer that an investor is looking for and you’ve got under 30 seconds to do that!

3. Focusing on Products & Features

Startup pitch videos are all about pitching the startup to investors so that they can decide whether or not to invest in your business. Focusing on products, features, or all of those other details can quickly get you into hot water because you don’t have much time to pitch your startup idea and the benefits of investing into your business. If you waste too much time delivering a pitch that focuses on sharing details about your products and the features and value that comes from purchasing from your brand, you’re going to miss out on the opportunity to share with your investor information about your business and why it is important.

Instead, you should focus on:

• Showing how much you know about your business.
• Proving to the investor that you are the best person to run this business.
• Proving to investors that you have done your homework and know your competition.
• Sharing with investors any details that will help them see the value of investing in your startup.

Don’t focus on your products, focus on your business!

4. Inaccurate Valuations & Predictions

This is not the time for a fake it till you make it approach! Investors will see right through your lack of knowledge and they’ll be quick to turn their back on your startup. In fact, you absolutely do not want to risk sharing false information or data with investors nor do you want to make any inaccurate valuations or predictions about your upcoming sales and growth. 

Instead, you need to show your investors that you’ve checked and double-checked the potential valuations and profits, that you are very clear about your valuations, and that you know your industry inside – and out. You might think that making a valuation mistake to an investor isn’t a big deal, it’s “just a mistake” after all. But if you could make a mistake in your valuation, where else could you make mistakes? This is how your investors will think.

Startup pitch videos must have accurate predictions and valuation data. In fact, any data or details you include must be 100% accurate so that your investors will trust in your pitch. Otherwise, you risk losing credibility and investors are going to be quick to share this with others! It won’t look good for your business, that’s for sure!

5. Lack of Data

If you think you can get away with including more creativity and visuals in your startup pitch videos and that this will make up for a lack of data, you’re wrong! It’s absolutely vital to include important data for decision making that will help investors to come to the conclusion that they want to support your startup. Please don’t minimize the need for data or think that you can get away with less data just because you’ve chosen a unique or flashy design for your deck!

Investors are most interested in figuring out how they will make money with your startup, how long it will take to recuperate their investment into your business, and what the risks are in regards to their investments. This is the data that needs to be addressed in your startup pitch videos, nothing else is of immediate importance. 

Want more help producing professional startup pitch videos that will deliver the key details your investors need in order to support your startup? Give Beverly Boy Productions a call!